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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/15/18 in all areas

  1. Hi CF, welcome here. You made a great decision. Thanks for giving us some insight in where you are at, this moment. Keep doing that, it will help! I smoked my last cigaret conciously, or so I thought. Because, honestly I can't remember. I know it was 20:08 pm.. I have no clue about how I felt at that moment, except that quitting in itself made me anxious. But I am glad, because here I am! And the fact that I quit is soooo much more valuable to me than how or when or with which emotion I smoked my last one.. Jane is right about romancing. You can read a lot about that on the board. Take good care of yourself these coming days. You are doing the right thing.
    9 points
  2. I'm a 33-year old single mom from the Philippines. I started smoking when I was 14. Around mid August, my kid got sick with bronchitis. Right around that time, I found out that the house I was renting had a mold infestation which I had to fix, of course. Money got tight, sleep was few and far between. A week later, kid is well and home but mold infestation which I had spent a good chunk of money fixing is back with a vengeance. Then I find out the house itself is foreclosed and if it gets sold soon, my son and I will be homeless. Then comes September. I get the flu and a cough that won't go away. Thinking I got bronchitis too, I had it checked and was prescribed meds. I almost died from the medication. My heart rate was double the normal and apparently, had I slept it off as I initially decided, I wouldn't have woken up. I was told I either had a problem with my heart or my thyroid and a barrage of tests was done. All this time I was thinking it's the lungs. I've been smoking for almost two decades - it's probably it. Turns out my lungs are clear and it was my thyroid, but then there was a bump on my chest that may be a melanoma. So I had to go through a minor surgery to have it removed and biopsied. Waiting for the results was the hardest. On one end I was scared it was cancer because I smoked, on the other, I smoked because I was scared it was cancer. All of these events were making my head a bad space to be in. Having had depression in my early 20s, I was determined to avoid it at all costs. I succeeded with that but I had no idea panic/anxiety attacks were just around the corner. I thought getting good results back would make them go away, but they didn't. The worst attack was last week when my cousin died.. of cancer. So in a moment of insanity/genius, I sat down and finally opened Jason Vale's Stop Smoking in 2 hours app that I had downloaded over a month ago. I'm on day 2. I know it's a smart move because obviously, I get nothing from this horrible addiction and quitting is the best decision I could have ever made. But I'm obviously not in my best mental state. There was no preparation. There's no significance to my quit date, I didn't choose it beforehand. The app said I needed 2 hours straight to listen to it. I had two hours that day so I listened. By the end of the two hours, the voice on the audio was telling me to have my last cigarette. I was like "uhm... now?... Okay.. I guess" and had it. I'm concerned that I didn't get to properly have my last cig. One can argue whether a proper goodbye is really needed but my bigger concern is this lack of goodbye maybe what makes me relapse. To be honest I'm not thinking of having another cig or a next cig or one more cig. But I'm having a hard time brushing aside the thoughts of that final cig that I didn't get to internalize. It's causing me anxiety and giving me thoughts that I should probably just have that last cig now and be done with it and restart while the decision to quit is still fresh and strong rather than wait it out and relapse bad. Then again.. that single puff could be it. This feels more like an S.O.S. than an introduction. Sorry.
    8 points
  3. Congratulations on quitting!! It's the absolute best thing you will ever do for yourself and you kid!! This is called "romancing" the cigarette. Your nicotine receptors are dying and crying for anything to get more drugs. For the longest time, you let nicotine dictate when you were happy by the dopamine release that comes in the first drag. (If you remember cigarettes taste awful) now you are probably missing that feeling. This is where the rewards system comes in. Chocolate, sex, exercise will all release the feel good chemicals your brain is craving. Find a reward.that works for you Also, eat small snacks during the day to keep your blood sugar up (this will also help with moodswings from low blood sugar) Just remember! YOU are in control! Those are not cravings, they are memories from when you use to smoke and now you don't; so don't give them any more time to make you crazy. Just say "NOPE! I'm a non-smoker!" And find something else to do to redirect brain activity. Anyway....welcome to the train! There is so much great information here! Read everything you can on nicotine addiction, set your mind to it and just do it!!
    8 points
  4. We are heading into that time of year and, even though I feel confident in my quit, I am a little fearful of the holidays. They use to be such a great joy and spiritual fulfillment for me but over the last couple of years I have come to dread them. My emphasis was always on having that loving memory that was going to be left behind. What always occurred was more like one of those comedies you see at the movies. I always got through by sneaking upstairs to the bathroom and having my smoke out the window. Every year I start fresh with that hope and end with such disappointment. I know you will all tell me to go away for the holidays but I can't. I know my grand kids look forward to Grandma's homemade sticky buns and my son is single and does not have a family besides us. This might be the last year with my dad. His health is declining. No one has the perfect get together and I am sure that even though things do not go as planned, we will probably still look back and find something good about them. I know the longer I stay quit, the more powerful I become. Maybe my fear this year is that I may be too outspoken for everyone. I might just finally not put up with some peoples sh**t. Whatever, I just wanted to get this out there as we head into the holidays. You are all so great at redirecting my thoughts and helping me through. .
    7 points
  5. Hi Freedom. Wow, your story is amazing and shows how strong you are. You have been able to forge through so many battles and now you are going to successfully forge through this one. The first couple of days are the toughest and then it is just a matter of changing the way you think. I want you to know that I have battled depression, anxiety and panic attacks. I always found that the attack occurred after the stress seemed to calm down. I feel part of that is a mind game too. We may be over the stress but we keep replaying it in our mind until our body says enough. I have been on medication for this for years. You might discuss this option with your physician because your emotions are going to be all over the place while you are quitting. First, I am going to pray that your housing circumstance changes for the better and then that you and your son's health improves. Your life will automatically change for the better with quitting smoking. I am so glad you have found this forum and look forward to supporting you on this journey. You are doing great so far. Keep staying strong and you will succeed.
    7 points
  6. > I'm concerned that I didn't get to properly have my last cig. >One can argue whether a proper goodbye is really needed but my bigger concern is this lack of goodbye maybe what makes me relapse. There is no "last" - only "the next". A continuous, never-ending chain of The Next. You know this. You experienced damned near 2 continuous decades of The Next. One after another. Hour after hour. Day after day ... Even when you have the so-called "last" you will still have the same concerns about The Next ... and the next ... and the next. It is the fundamental nature of addiction. The thing that keeps folks coming back for more. The driver of relapses. You have had your "last". All you need do now is NEVER, under any circumstances, have The Next. Do this, and you are Quit Forever. EZPZ 
    7 points
  7. Congratulations @Kelly for being 1 year smoke free. Well done Kelly and welcome to the Lido Deck. You are the quietest of the November girls but your achievement is no less than the others. I love reading your monthly check ins and was so proud to read you were NRT free and going strong with your quit. So sit back, have a drink and enjoy the cheers. What a fantastic gift you have given yourself. So how have you celebrated your first year of freedom?
    6 points
  8. Hello and welcome aboard... So glad you found us.... There is a ton of great info to get you started on this amazing journey....learn all you can...about this horrible addiction ... It's just like another addiction...always looking forward to the next little fix.... Your body will be all over the place for a little while...it's used to be fed ,all of those chemicals so many times a day... Be kind to yourself...rest,..nice soaks in the bath..candles ...anything that makes you feel good... I'm sorry you and your son are having housing trouble...sending good vibes to you.... I also remember my last cigarette.... Sitting on a step ,with tears rolling down my cheeks...knowing ...I didn't have a choice of whether to quit or not... Don't romance something that is slowly destroying your health.....but has you believe it's your friend ... Not One Puff Ever.... This helped me quit ...and it will help you .....if you let it ....
    6 points
  9. This line made me well up. Thank you. I had lost sight of that. Thank you. I can't believe how emotional I've been since I quit. I cried the first night during the first hypnotherapy session. I've felt helpless knowing that I'm free but my sister nor my father aren't and there's nothing I can do to help them unless they decide to choose freedom for themselves. I've felt anger at how much time I wasted giving excuses, finding ways not to quit and how tobacco companies are making money, sleeping soundly as some of us suffer. So much emotion that I lost sight of the good. Thank you for reminding me.
    6 points
  10. Nope. Smoking is never an option.
    6 points
  11. Gudday Vegemite has a lot of other uses. Black toilet seating favored by government bodies are best. A quick smear of vegemite around the inner edge will leave a black greasy ring on the body of the next user. It is not possible to remove Vegemite from the skin with spit and toilet paper alone. Vegemite was included in army ration packs during WWII. It can in a small tin like a miniature sardine tin. The remaining rations were issued to school cadets during the 60s and 70s. It was always a good lark to throw a can in the fire when someone stood with thier back to the fire. It was also handy to be able to recognize the more senior officers from a distance by the black stains on thier clothing. On an Australian warship the junior officers work towards getting thier " bridge ticket" that enabled them to take over the control of the warship without the watchfully eye of a more senior officer. On their first watch by themselves there would usually be some wag who would smear Vegemite on the black eyepiece of the officer of the watches binoculars. After one use the young officer would have a fairly distinctive "panda eye" and would spend the rest of the watch trying to figure out why no one would look him in the eye! And what was all the laughing about. Foreign visitors are usually horrified to find out of the two most deadly spiders 6 of the most venomous live in Australian. And of the world top 6 most deadly snakes its really only the fourth most deadly the common brown that really kills the most people anyway. You explain to them that Australian have a natural protection in the form of large doses of vitamin B consumed over a lifetime of eating Vegemite. Of course that want to try some , some can eat it most can't. It's easy you explain to them you can get the same benifit by smearing Vegemite on your skin. Makes it easy to find any lost visitors in the bush , the smell of Vegemite travels a long way! Regards daveC
    6 points
  12. When you start feeling that way (romancing) run thru the list H.A.L.T-- are you hungry, angry, lonely, tired? These are big "triggers" that cause smoking thoughts.
    6 points
  13. 5 points
  14. 5 points
  15. Welcome Chosen, and yay for you! A huge shout out to you for turning away from cigarettes, rather than towards them, when things got really tough. With that kind of strength mixed with good sense, there's no doubt you are going to succeed and never regret this decision. As rough as life has been for you lately, you've done what you needed to do to move past each obstacle, and you will do the same with smoking. I'm sure many of us wish that we had made the decision to leave smoking behind forever by age 33, and by doing so you are giving yourself the gift of a lifetime. As hard as quitting may seem in the beginning, it always easier to stop when it's your choice rather than waiting until you "have to", and it seems as if the rewards are often much greater. I did have a final cig, but didn't really believe it was the last for quite some time and was very creative at thinking up with reasons to have another -- the trick for me was to not believe my own nonsense and just make it to the next day smoke free, then repeat.
    5 points
  16. Hi chosenfreedom, welcome to the quit train, great to have you here ...? Now i did have a planned quit date but then like Jillar I decided to seize the moment before my quit date and never got to "enjoy" my last puff either.. but truth is there was nothing to enjoy, I was only a slave to the addiction and a tipper truck full of mind games.. I know if I didn't jump in with both feet when I did then I would have missed my moment and I don't know how long, if ever it would have taken me to try again.. So DON'T romance the cigarette, don't give it an inch... Hold strong..This truly is the best decision of your life..?
    5 points
  17. Yes chosenfreedom they have to choose it for themselves but you successfully quitting will show them that they too can
    5 points
  18. Haha! I was kinda happy that the day I quit was so insignificant. I figured, it's the fact that I quit that gives it its significance. On the flipside, it doesn't really matter when you became free, all that matters is you stay free. So I'm good with it either way.
    5 points
  19. Welcome chosenfreedom and congratulations on taking back your life I didn't have a planned quit date either and I think it worked out better that way. Having a planned date never worked for me, the anxiety of that day being the last was too much. So imo quitting like you did I was the way to go.
    5 points
  20. Doing fine. I did as jane suggested and exercised. That seemed to make it go away long enough for the stores to close. It's definitely easier to brush the thoughts aside when I know there's no way I can get cigs. I've also spent a good chunk of time reading. I still have so many tabs open -- all of which I intend to read through. So far I'm happy to know that my general sleepiness throughout the day isn't just me. So much more to learn on this road to recovery. But I'm glad I'm on it.
    5 points
  21. 5 points
  22. Hello Freedom and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on quitting smoking ! All of us here are proof that quitting is possible. THE best tool to quit smoking is education so, use the resources here and read read read. Watch the scary movies. You may find this post helpful, 10 Ways To Effectively Use This Forum... Let us know how you are doing.
    5 points
  23. Thank you so much for your response c9jane29. I haven't read much on the forums yet so I'm quite new to this romancing the cigarette idea and that it's dopamine I need and not nicotine. Funnily enough, I haven't exercised today yet. I'm going to go ahead and do it now and make this terrorist go away. Thanks again!
    5 points
  24. 5 points
  25. The Holidays are much better smoke free
    3 points
  26. Great job Lilly -- moving strong now -- keep it up!!
    3 points
  27. Good for you, Lilly. Yeah, if you had given up yesterday, you would have felt horrible. I'm glad you didn't. You are doing a great thing by quitting smoking. Embrace that fact and protect your quit. Keep up the awesome work!
    3 points
  28. Sweetheart , With all the hype that leads up to Xmas....it easy to sit and reflect when things are not as perfect as we would like .....and wish some area,s in our life were different ...I'm with you on this . I have learnt over the years ,to just except things ...and it's only a short time ... Sometimes thinking about a situation makes our brains go in overload.....just stick to NOPE...you are a stronger person now.....one who will speak her mind and I know you will do just fine .. This is the first Xmas of many smoke free...that something to cheer about ...I'll raise my glass to that....
    3 points
  29. The holidays will be so much better without missed moments for smoking!!(and all the stress of thinking you could hide it) You might need family around more than you think as you just experienced a close loss. I know your parents make you nuts, so take your breaks still...make an excuse to go out to the garage and scream into a pillow...go out in the yard and see if you can find a good stick? Enjoy EVERY. SINGLE. MOMENT. with those grandkids and don't let anyone stop you from giving them all the love and attention they deserve. I'm a little sad I will miss out on the sticky buns. (your husband enjoys them the most, I bet?) Get sassy if you have to...sometimes people get used to walking all over us and won't stop until we stand up for ourselves. My mother in law is like that with her daughters and expected she could give me the same treatment when I married her son, but I set boundries real quick. Now, she doesn't "tell me" to do anything; she asks politely when she talks to me The holidays are just another part of the quit...the things we have to learn to do as a non-smoker and we will do it together!
    3 points
  30. Thank you all for the well wishes. A big thank you to @notsmokinjo, you have been a great supporter and I appreciate it very much.:)
    3 points
  31. I placed your previous account(s) on post restriction which means a moderator or myself would have to approve any content before it's posted. There never was anything waiting to be approved from any of your accounts as not only did I frequently check, but I also get email alerts if there is any content waiting for approval. You were told more than once about the duplicate accounts. This will be the last account; start another and you'll no longer be allowed to post here. When you post random thoughts they go to the top of the page which causes other members' topics to be pushed down further. Using the free blogging feature for this sort of content is best (I see you've started using it) but you can also create ONE thread to post some of your random thoughts, so long as they're smoking related or relevant to whichever board you're posting it on. This way, there won't be 10 threads all created by you which tend to drown out threads started by other members. If I see this happening, I'll simply delete them because nobody has the time to keep explaining rules and proper posting etiquette in a support group. It's kind of along the same lines of having a dinner and interrupting friends or not letting them talk and taking over the conversation. By all means, keep using the blog you created which can serve as a diary of sorts which can be very useful in your quit journey. Feel free to blog all day/night if you wish. ?
    3 points
  32. 3 points
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QuitTrain®, a quit smoking support community, was created by former smokers who have a deep desire to help people quit smoking and to help keep those quits intact.  This place should be a safe haven to escape the daily grind and focus on protecting our quits.  We don't believe that there is a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to quitting smoking.  Each of us has our own unique set of circumstances which contributes to how we go about quitting and more importantly, how we keep our quits.

 

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